Iona Pinto: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Indian model and beauty pageant titleholder}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2018}}
{{Infobox pageant titleholder
{{Infobox pageant titleholder
| name = Iona Pinto
| name             = Iona Pinto
| occupation = [[Bank teller]]<br>[[Beauty queen]]<br>[[Model (person)|Model]]
| birth_date       = {{birth date|df=yes|1936|6|17}}
| title =• Eve's Weekly Miss India International 1960<br>
| birth_place       = [[New Delhi]], [[British India]]
• Eve's Weekly Miss India World 1960
| death_date       = {{death date|df=yes|2012|6|21}}
| competitions =
| death_place       = [[Angeles City]], [[Philippines]]
• Eve's Weekly Miss India 1960<br><small>(Winner)</small><br>
| occupation        = [[Model (person)|Model]] and beauty pageant titleholder
• [[Miss International 1960]]<br><small>(1st Runner Up)</small><br>
| title            = Eve's Weekly Miss India 1960
• [[Miss World 1960]]<br><small>(Unplaced)</small>
| competitions      = {{Plainlist|
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1936|6|17}}
* Eve's Weekly Miss India 1960
| birth_place = [[New Delhi]], [[British India]]
* [[Miss International 1960]] (1st runner-up)
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2012|11|11|1936|6|17}}
* [[Miss World 1960]] (Top 18)
| death_place = [[Angeles City]], [[Philippines]]
| height= {{height|m=1.76}}
}}
}}
'''Iona Pinto''' (17 June 1936&nbsp;–11 November 2012) was an [[India]]n [[Model (person)|model]] and beauty queen from [[Maharashtra, India]]. Pinto was the first crossover pageant delegate from India.<ref>
}}
*{{cite web|title=Miss International 1960- Pageantopolis |url=http://www.pageantopolis.com/international/int_1960.htm |accessdate=4 June 2014 |url-status=usurped |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111227161840/http://www.pageantopolis.com/international/Int_1960.htm |archivedate=27 December 2011 }}
 
*{{cite web|title=~~~...***TiMeLeSS FeM!NA M!SS InD!A - InTERNaTIoNaL***...~~~|url=http://missosology.info/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=181029|accessdate=4 June 2014}}</ref>
'''Iona Pinto''' (17 June 1936 – 21 June 2012), also known as '''Iona Pinto-Vaz''', was an Indian model and beauty pageant titleholder. She won the 1960 ''Eve's Weekly Miss India'' competition and represented India at [[Miss International 1960]] and [[Miss World 1960]]. She finished as the first runner-up at Miss International 1960.<ref name="GPC">{{cite web|title=An ode to Eve's Weekly Miss India, the first beauty pageant of India|url=https://thegreatpageantcommunity.com/2017/01/02/an-ode-to-eves-weekly-miss-india-the-first-beauty-pageant-of-india/|website=The Great Pageant Company|date=2 January 2017|access-date=14 September 2026}}</ref><ref name="MI1960">{{cite web|title=Miss International 1960|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111227161840/http://www.pageantopolis.com/international/Int_1960.htm|website=Pageantopolis|archive-date=27 December 2011|access-date=14 September 2026}}</ref>
 
==Career==


==Career and pageantry==
Pinto won the 1960 ''Eve's Weekly Miss India'' competition. The pageant was organised by ''[[Eve's Weekly]]'', an Indian magazine that had established its beauty contest in 1959. Fleur Ezekiel won the inaugural edition in 1959 and represented India at [[Miss World 1959]].<ref name="GPC"/>
Pinto is from [[Maharashtra]], India. During her college years, Pinto worked as a [[bank teller]] at the [[Bank of America]] branch in [[Mumbai]]. She was encouraged to join a beauty pageant by her [[gay male]] cousin who was working as a salon hairstylist in Mumbai. She then participated in the Miss India pageant of ''Eve's Weekly'', a [[Mumbai]]-based magazine that held its first pageant in the country in 1960.


She was crowned the first ''Eve's Weekly'' Miss India and represented [[India]] at the first edition of [[Miss International]] in 1960. She was declared first runner up at half a point (0.5) score margin, thereby conceding victory to [[Stella Araneta]] of [[Colombia]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Miss International 1960- Pageantopolis |url=http://www.pageantopolis.com/international/int_1960.htm |accessdate=4 June 2014 |url-status=usurped |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111227161840/http://www.pageantopolis.com/international/Int_1960.htm |archivedate=27 December 2011 }}</ref> At this pageant, Pinto received a grand consolation prize of US$4,000 and the Miss International trophy (there was no consolation crown or novelty sash during this time).
In 1960, Pinto became the second winner of the ''Eve's Weekly Miss India'' competition and represented India at both [[Miss International 1960]] and [[Miss World 1960]].<ref name="GPC"/>


Pinto was sent again to represent [[India]] at the [[Miss World 1960]] pageant but remained unplaced.<ref>{{cite web|title=Miss World 1960- Pageantopolis|url=http://www.pageantopolis.com/international/world_1960.htm|accessdate=4 June 2014|url-status=usurped|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140514215212/http://www.pageantopolis.com/international/world_1960.htm|archivedate=14 May 2014}}</ref> After [[Miss World]] she returned to India and did modeling work. Later on, she migrated to the [[Philippines]] for new work and to start a family.
The first [[Miss International]] pageant was held on 12 August 1960 at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in [[Long Beach, California]]. The competition had 52 entries. [[Stella Márquez]] of Colombia won the title, followed by Pinto of India in second place, Sigridur Geirsdóttir of Iceland in third, Joyce Kay of England in fourth and Charlene Lundberg of the United States in fifth.<ref name="MI1960"/>


==Personal life==
At Miss International 1960, Pinto was one of the 15 semifinalists and advanced to the final five. She finished as the first runner-up to Colombia's Maria Stella Márquez Zawadzky, who won by half a point. Pinto received US$4,000 as the first runner-up.<ref name="MI1960Detail">{{cite web|title=Miss International 1960 - Part Two|url=https://www.oocities.org/televisioncity/9699/inter60b.html|website=Miss International Seminar Series|access-date=14 September 2026}}</ref>
Pinto was married to Filipino national Allan Vaz. She had five children.


==Death==
Pinto represented India at [[Miss World 1960]], held on 8 November 1960 at the Lyceum Ballroom in London. The competition had 39 participants and was won by Norma Gladys Cappagli of Argentina. Pinto advanced to the Top 18.<ref name="MWOfficial">{{cite web|title=10th Miss World - 1960|url=https://www.missworld.com/contestants/1960|website=Miss World|access-date=14 September 2026}}</ref><ref name="MW1960">{{cite web|title=Miss World 1960|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140514215212/http://www.pageantopolis.com/international/world_1960.htm|website=Pageantopolis|archive-date=14 May 2014|access-date=14 September 2026}}</ref>
Pinto died of [[breast cancer]] on 11 November 2012 in [[Angeles City]], Philippines. A [[Catholic Mass]] was offered in her memory at the [[Cathedral of the Holy Name, Mumbai]].
 
Pinto subsequently worked as a model and was associated with the Indian beauty-pageant industry.<ref name="MidDay">{{cite news|last=Sanghavi|first=Malavika|title=A star is gone|work=Mid-Day|date=25 June 2012|url=https://www.mid-day.com/news/india-news/article/a-star-is-gone-169543|access-date=14 September 2026}}</ref>
 
==Personal life and death==
 
Pinto was married to Allan Vaz and had three children.<ref name="TOI">{{cite web|title=IONA PINTO-VAZ|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/iona-pinto-vaz/articleshow/15033803.cms|website=The Times of India|date=18 July 2012|access-date=14 September 2026}}</ref> She died on 21 June 2012 in [[Angeles City]], [[Philippines]], after a battle with cancer.<ref name="MidDay"/> A Month's Mind Mass was scheduled at [[Holy Name Cathedral, Mumbai|Holy Name Cathedral]] in Colaba, Mumbai, on 21 July 2012.<ref name="TOI"/>
 
==Pageant results==
 
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Pageant results
|-
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Competition
! scope="col" | Representing
! scope="col" | Result
|-
! scope="row" | 1960
| Eve's Weekly Miss India
| India
| Winner
|-
! scope="row" | 1960
| [[Miss International 1960]]
| India
| 1st runner-up
|-
! scope="row" | 1960
| [[Miss World 1960]]
| India
| Top 18
|}


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}Correcting birth/death dates and age. Iona Pinto-Vaz passed away on June 21, 2012, not in November, as verified by her family's official Times of India obituary (Link). Furthermore, she was 18 years old during her 1960 Miss India/Miss International run, establishing her birth year as 1942, making her 70 at the time of her passing."


==External links==
{{Reflist}}
* [http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/IONA-PINTO-VAZ/tributeshow/15033803.cms Timesofindia.indiatimes.com]
 
{{Miss International 1960 delegates}}
{{Miss World 1960 delegates}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinto, Iona}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinto, Iona}}
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:2012 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian beauty pageant winners]]
[[Category:Indian beauty pageant winners]]
[[Category:2012 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian female models]]
[[Category:Miss International 1960 delegates]]
[[Category:Miss International 1960 delegates]]
[[Category:Female models from Delhi]]
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:Miss World 1960 delegates]]
[[Category:Miss World 1960 delegates]]
[[Category:People from New Delhi]]

Latest revision as of 11:27, 14 September 2026

Iona Pinto
Born(1936-06-17)17 June 1936
New Delhi, British India
Died(2012-06-21)21 June 2012
Angeles City, Philippines
OccupationModel and beauty pageant titleholder
TitleEve's Weekly Miss India 1960
Beauty pageant titleholder
Major
competition(s)

Iona Pinto (17 June 1936 – 21 June 2012), also known as Iona Pinto-Vaz, was an Indian model and beauty pageant titleholder. She won the 1960 Eve's Weekly Miss India competition and represented India at Miss International 1960 and Miss World 1960. She finished as the first runner-up at Miss International 1960.[1][2]

Career[edit | edit source]

Pinto won the 1960 Eve's Weekly Miss India competition. The pageant was organised by Eve's Weekly, an Indian magazine that had established its beauty contest in 1959. Fleur Ezekiel won the inaugural edition in 1959 and represented India at Miss World 1959.[1]

In 1960, Pinto became the second winner of the Eve's Weekly Miss India competition and represented India at both Miss International 1960 and Miss World 1960.[1]

The first Miss International pageant was held on 12 August 1960 at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California. The competition had 52 entries. Stella Márquez of Colombia won the title, followed by Pinto of India in second place, Sigridur Geirsdóttir of Iceland in third, Joyce Kay of England in fourth and Charlene Lundberg of the United States in fifth.[2]

At Miss International 1960, Pinto was one of the 15 semifinalists and advanced to the final five. She finished as the first runner-up to Colombia's Maria Stella Márquez Zawadzky, who won by half a point. Pinto received US$4,000 as the first runner-up.[3]

Pinto represented India at Miss World 1960, held on 8 November 1960 at the Lyceum Ballroom in London. The competition had 39 participants and was won by Norma Gladys Cappagli of Argentina. Pinto advanced to the Top 18.[4][5]

Pinto subsequently worked as a model and was associated with the Indian beauty-pageant industry.[6]

Personal life and death[edit | edit source]

Pinto was married to Allan Vaz and had three children.[7] She died on 21 June 2012 in Angeles City, Philippines, after a battle with cancer.[6] A Month's Mind Mass was scheduled at Holy Name Cathedral in Colaba, Mumbai, on 21 July 2012.[7]

Pageant results[edit | edit source]

Pageant results
Year Competition Representing Result
1960 Eve's Weekly Miss India India Winner
1960 Miss International 1960 India 1st runner-up
1960 Miss World 1960 India Top 18

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "An ode to Eve's Weekly Miss India, the first beauty pageant of India". The Great Pageant Company. 2 January 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Miss International 1960". Pageantopolis. Retrieved 14 September 2026. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)
  3. ↑ "Miss International 1960 - Part Two". Miss International Seminar Series. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
  4. ↑ "10th Miss World - 1960". Miss World. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
  5. ↑ "Miss World 1960". Pageantopolis. Retrieved 14 September 2026. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Sanghavi, Malavika (25 June 2012). "A star is gone". Mid-Day. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "IONA PINTO-VAZ". The Times of India. 18 July 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
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